Alan Solomon: Plenty of activities to help our youth stay on track

Alan Solomon

Here at the Rotorua Youth Centre we regularly hear from young people that there is not enough for them to do in Rotorua but, in reality, the opposite is true.

There is a huge variety of different educational, musical and leadership programmes, social youth events, church youth groups, a diverse range of sports, outdoor pursuits and festivals in our city.

All of these activities and events are delivered in the hope of motivating, encouraging and keeping our youth engaged and productive to help them achieve all that they can.

Already, 2015 has been an exciting year for our young people, with the Lakeside Concert, the Waitangi 175-year Celebrations Festival, the Summer Splash Festival, Children's Day Celebrations, various after school workshops and all the traditional summer sports in between.

There is an old adage which states that kids in sport stay out of court, and I would like to identify that there is New Zealand research to back this statement up, but unfortunately I am yet to find any.

In saying this, there are Rotorua youth services providers and youth workers who would gladly affirm keeping our youth occupied is one key to harnessing and growing their potential to keep them on the right side of the law.

There are many reasons why our young people play up, and Rotorua police Senior Sergeant Denton Grimes suggests for some youth, in some cases, it is lack of parental control and responsibility which makes the young person behave in a way that is unacceptable.

Mr Grimes says what happens at home manifest in the kids and sometimes good families have kids who go off the rails for whatever reason and they are an exception to the rule.

The Rotorua police have early intervention plans and alternative action plans to help these young ones get back on track, and one in particular is the Cactus or Combined Adolescent Challenge Training Unit and Support programme.

Cactus is all about creating an environment which is safe and caring to develop healthy young adults, which I'm sure you will agree is better for the young person, their family and the community.

Whether it is indeed sports, kapa-haka, after-school workshops or leadership projects, there are plenty of opportunities for disengaged youth as well as those who choose to excel.

For instance, one stalwart provider is Te Waiariki Purea Trust (TWPT), which has provided 27 years of services for young people. It is involved in strengthening families, Whanau Ora, youth leadership programmes, family violence prevention, working with youth who are on the benefit to get them into work, training or education, holiday programmes and Youth Justice referrals to name a few, most of them free.

One initiative facilitated by TWPT is Ira Matatau which inspires rangatahi aged 12 to 24 to participate and volunteer in quality community activities, planning and event management, and leadership programmes.

-For more details, contact Ira Matatau Rangatahi leaders' co-ordinator Maylene Meroiti at Iramatatau@twptnz.org and Rotorua police senior sergeant Denton Grimes at denton.grimes@police.govt.nz.

-With contributions from Maylene Meroiti and Rotorua police Senior Sergeant Denton Grimes.